This invention concerns spherical bearings.
Spherical bearings are widely used in linkages of mechanical controls. Aircraft use hundreds of spherical bearings to provide linear movements in pushing or pulling links.
Tolerances between parts and the maintenance of those tolerances during usage are important to the effectiveness of spherical bearings.
Many types of spherical bearings have been designed and are in use. Outer races are most commonly rod ends or circular o other shaped races which are provided with fasteners to attach to other elements. Rod ends have a circular race at one end and a rod at the other. Usually the rod end has a male or female thread for attaching to a complementary thread at the end of a rod. Many forms of holding a ball within the race have been developed. The art of spherical bearings is crowded and minor changes to the art provide significant contributions.
Some spherical bearings have outer races which are deformed inwardly about a ball to provide a concave spherical surface in which the ball rotates.
Other spherical bearings have races in which sections of the race are assembled after the ball is inserted in the race. Some spherical bearings to which the present invention is particularly related have races which are formed in two axial halves. One half has a spherical surface for receiving an outer surface of a ball. The other half has a tapered surface for receiving and holding an insert which is pressed into the outer race and against the sloping surface. This invention provides an improvement in such spherical bearings.